Plant-Based Unsaturated Fats Significantly Reduce Risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Heart Disease

Swapping from a diet that is high in saturated animal fats to plant-based unsaturated fats can impact the fat composition in the blood.Recent research published in Nature Medicine found that diets high in plant-based unsaturated fats instead of saturated animal fats were associated with a reduced rate of type 2 diabetes as well as cardiovascular disease. 

The study confirms with even more certainty the health benefits of a diet high in unsaturated plant fats such as the Mediterranean diet and could help provide targeted dietary advice to those who would benefit most from changing their eating habits. 

As part of their study, they examined data from a subset of 113 participants from the DIVAS trial, a dietary intervention randomized control trial. 

In the DIVAS trial, 195 participants based in the UK were split into three groups. One group ate a diet that was higher in saturated animal fats for 16 weeks, whilst the other groups ate a diet that was higher in monounsaturated or polyunsaturated plant-based fats. The participants also gave blood samples. The researchers used the blood lipid data from the DIVAS trial to develop a scoring system that summarized the effects of swapping saturated fat with unsaturated fat on 45 lipid metabolite concentrations.

The researchers then applied the MLS score, along with a simplified score called reduced MLS (rMLS), to data from previously carried out prospective cohort studies and another dietary randomized control trial to examine the effects of dietary fat quality on blood lipids and health outcomes related to dietary fat modifications. 

Their analysis showed that participants with a higher MLS or rMLS score, which indicated their diet included more beneficial fats, had a significantly reduced risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases compared with their peers. 

A higher MLS score was linked to a six-fold stronger reduction in heart disease risk (32% vs. 5%) and five-fold stronger reduction in type 2 diabetes risk (26% vs. 5%). 

However, the study did have several limitations, such as not including independent research to validate absolute effect sizes on all metabolites or establishing thresholds. 

It tends to elevate blood lipids like triglycerides, cholesterol, both the HDL and LDL cholesterol.  

Plant-based sources of fats tend to also be found in foods that are high in , high in micronutrients (vitamins/minerals), antioxidants, and other healthy plant compounds that decrease inflammation in the body.  

Other unsaturated plant-based oils (plant-based omega 3s) that are healthy include walnut oil, flax oil, and hemp oil.